Harry and Meghan have the upper hand at the coronation of King Charles

Royal family

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By Sarah Nathan

March 4, 2023 | 09:00

The Windsors are a house divided – again.

This week Prince Harry and Meghan Markle confirmed to Page Six that they had been asked to leave Frogmore Cottage – in a move dubbed ‘Frogxit’ – while the disgraced Prince Andrew was asked to leave Royal Lodge, his home 20 and move to Frogmore.

The whirlwind of headlines now threatens to overshadow the coronation of King Charles at Westminster Abbey on May 6.

Charles and his coterie of advisers will want to settle things in time for the ceremony, as Hugo Vickers, writer and friend of the royal family, told Page Six: “Nothing should distract from the actual coronation, it’s very important.

“I don’t know if both Harry and Meghan will come (to the coronation), but the message I’m getting is that Charles is worried about his son and wants to leave the door open for him.”

Charles’ decision to kick the Duke and Duchess of Sussex out of their British home comes just weeks after the publication of Harry’s memoir, ‘Spare’, in which he revealed a long list of family secrets, including how he and her older brother Prince William has urged their father not to marry Camilla Parker-Bowles, who will soon be crowned queen consort alongside her husband.

A senior palace insider said it was the perfect time for Charles to ask his son to leave his home as “there isn’t much sympathy left for Harry and Meghan in the UK.

Even so, Page Six has been told by multiple sources that the Sussexes have an open invitation to the coronation.

Official invitations will be sent out this week. And it is inevitable that the focus will be either on the presence of the couple or on their absence.

“No matter what happens, Harry and Meghan will always be the ones making the headlines,” the palace insider said. “Whether they come or stay home in California, they have the upper hand.”

Another well-placed royal source told Page Six that Buckingham Palace officials expected the Sussexes to fly over, adding: “Harry has always been sworn to uphold the values ​​of the monarchy…and how do you not come at your father’s coronation?”

But for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who will mark three years away from royal life and Harry’s homeland this month, being kicked out of Frogmore would seem like another move to oust them from the family altogether.

A Sussex insider said Harry and Megahan were hurt the most because Frogmore was a gift from the late Queen Elizabeth, adding: “It’s a shame, of course.

“Frogmore was originally intended to be their forever home and was a gift from the Queen before they ever thought of leaving the UK.”

Security is another big issue,

Harry is currently suing the UK government for the right to have funded security while in the UK. Frogmore is based on the Windsor Estate, close to Windsor Castle and extremely secure.

“If they don’t have Frogmore or a different residence on royal grounds, they don’t have security in the UK unless they ask for it and it’s granted,” the insider said. of Sussex.

The couple were all smiles as they stepped out for dinner at Hollywood hotspot San Vicente Bungalows in Hollywood this week, where, according to Page Six, they chatted with actress Kate Hudson and sat by the crackling fire.

And the insider struggled to point out that they are more than happy in their $14.5 million home in Montecito. California: “They are not victims and do not feel like victims. They have a house to live in, so they just accept what is asked of them and try to move on.

While it may seem like the attempt to evict Harry and Andrew from their homes came out of nowhere, plans have been underway for a year, Page Six says.

Palace sources say the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were initially asked to leave Frogmore last year before being given a one-year lease, although Sussex insiders deny this.

Talks to move the Duke of York began after Queen Elizabeth died in September, sources added.

The Sussexes’ departure will come just in time for the publication of Buckingham Palace’s annual financial report at the end of the month, the end of the UK fiscal year.

The report shows how much the British taxpayer spends on the Royal Family.

Charles made it known that he wanted to cut costs and provide a streamlined royal family.

Sussex sources, meanwhile, said they had no idea “what the motivation was” on the Buckingham Palace side.

The Sussexes lived at Frogmore Cottage from 2019 to 2020 after moving from their two-bedroom Nottingham Cottage, within the grounds of Kensington Palace in London, just before the birth of their son Archie in May 2019.

They transformed the property from a five-apartment former staff residence into a single-family home, but the extensive renovations, valued at around $3 million, became a hot topic as they were paid for by the Sovereign Grant – the fund British set aside for taxpayer-funded royals.

When Harry and Meghan moved to the United States, they repaid the money.

Last year they only stayed at Frogmore for a few days during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations and then again to attend her funeral.

“It’s a waste,” the royal source said of the couple keeping a home they very rarely use.

It is now suggested that Prince Andrew – who is no longer a member of the royal family after being forced to pay millions to Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Guiffre – will move into Frogmore.

His youngest daughter, Princess Eugenie, as well as her husband, Jack Brooksbank, and son August, also stayed there.

Andrew has shared the seven-bedroom Royal Lodge with his ex-wife, Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson, for 20 years. Ferguson told The Telegraph on Friday that she continues to be supportive of her ex, adding that she will “always be there” for him.

A source who knows Andrew told Page Six that talks to get him out of the Royal Lodge began in earnest after the Queen’s death, adding: “It’s an ongoing thing, Andrew didn’t want to leave, but he didn’t want to leave. have no choice”.

Additional reporting by Emily Smith